A Shadow In The Past
by The BestChaser
Summary: Little, innocent Katie Bell has always been the twin's best friend and partner in crime; but what happens if she suddenly grows into a young woman guys start to notice? A certain Quidditch captain doesn't know what hit him! But will it all end well? KBOW
1. Chapter 1

**1. Prologue**

**Welcome to my story 'A Shadow In The Past' formally known in the German version as 'That's Me'! Reading the reviews I got or my little one-shot I made one day encouraged me to rewrite and translate my very first story I have ever written. So if you have read it before, this might surprise you, because it is slightly different. I hope you will enjoy it, anyway! I am trying to follow the books up to a certain point, but it is definitely AU!**

**About the story:**** Katie Bell's daughter grows up without ever knowing about her mother or her own story. Katie had kept her memories, so that twelve years after her death, she is able to tell her daughter how she met and fell in love with her father, Oliver Wood.**

**Disclaimer****: Everything, except maybe some of the additional characters that were born from my own crazy imagination, belongs to JKR!**

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The book hit the floor with a muffled thud. The young woman groaned, frustrated, and reached for it, brushing one of her sandy, brown locks out of her face. How could anybody possibly concentrate on anything with all this noise? Three little kids ran around the house, shrieking in their little girls' voices. Her aunt Marjorie and her kids had come to visit just like every year, because her parents were celebrating this year's Quidditch season's finals. This year it would be a special celebration; her father's team, Puddlemere United, had won the cup. This wasn't the first time this had happened since her father was involved with the team, but this was his first year coaching. The team manager thereafter had decided to offer her father a permanent contract, which he had accepted. She was happy for her father, but she also realized that she would be seeing even fewer of him now. With growing frustration she turned on her chair and watched her two brothers chase her cousins around the house.

Sometimes she was wondering if their mother had cheated on her father with a troll. Those two were supposed to be her brothers, but she did not see any similarities between them and herself. Then again, they were boys. And her older brother Vincent was technically only her half brother, since he did have a different father. David on the other hand, who was about four years younger than her, did not resemble her much. She shrugged and frowned instantly as she heard yet another cry of fear coming from her cousins.

"Could you possibly stop that?" she exclaimed angrily at her brothers.

"Why?" the younger, dark haired boy asked, smirking. "Don't those three get on your last nerve, too? So why are you telling me off for keeping them away from you?"

"Get a grip, Laurie-Bella, why do you care?" her older brother interfered and looked at her, revealing his shining white teeth as he flashed a false smile at her.

Oh how she hated him with every inch of her being! She didn't like the usage of the word 'Hate'; it seemed so strong and absolute, but there was nothing else to describe her feelings towards her older brother. Vincent had good looks, he was very handsome and every witch lusted after him, but that was all he had ever achieved. He was a troll in a supermodel's body: He was tall and had broad shoulders, his mother's dark hair and eyes. His face was the one of the men on the covers of _Witch Weekly_ that showed off the newest fashion trends. They were only a year apart, and still seemed like two completely different people. She had inherited her father's lighter hair and his sarcastic personality, but she somehow managed to get blue eyes and a considerably small and delicate frame which none of her parents bore. Both her brothers towered over her and were at least one foot taller, like most people her age. Still, this December she was turning seventeen – she was coming off age!

This fall, she would step onto the Hogwarts Express for the last time to start her seventh and final year at Hogwarts. The weeks she spent at her parent's house over the summer were torture, just as always. Her father was away most of the time with his team and came home sparingly. Last summer, she had only seen him twice. This summer, she hadn't seen him at all. This would change tonight, however.

Often she felt like she didn't belong here, and if it weren't for the resembling with her father, she would think that she got switched accidentally in the hospital. Right now she just wanted to be somewhere else, with people who understood. Hogwarts was the only place were she felt at home and where she could be who she really was. She loved her friends and, just like her father, she played for Gryffindor's Quidditch team. She was the only one of the three kids that played and ended up in Gryffindor. Both her brothers were Ravenclaws, just like her mother. What had Vincent done to the Sorting Hat to make him a Ravenclaw? Threaten to burn him? She focused on her brother's still smiling face.

"The name's _Laurielle_," she spat, "and I would prefer if you would take this outside!"

She sighed, rolled her eyes and got out of her chair, making her way to the stairs to go upstairs into her room to read in silence. Her brothers were getting on her last nerve and as she checked her watch she realized that it was time for her to get ready anyway. Her mother had planned to take her to Diagon Alley for her books and new robes. Just as she stepped on the first step, she could hear the front door being opened.

"Hello? Did I make it in time?" she heard a deep voice say, which she recognized as her father's instantly, she could hardly believe her ears.

"Dad? DAD!" she shrieked happily and instantly forgot about her anger and frustration as she saw the tall, middle-aged man appearing in the doorway.

She crossed the hallway in a hurry, sprinting down into his waiting arms. He swirled her around, grinning happily. He held her away from him to take a good look at his daughter after he put her back down on the ground. His grin faded and was replaced with a sad smile that made her curious. He looked as if he realized what he was doing and cleared his throat, releasing her from his grip.

"Everything ok, Dad?" she asked, concerned and he nodded, smiling briefly.

"Of course, darling." He replied, "Perfect."

She grinned, relieved and happy to see her father. Little did she know that he had not told her the complete truth. His insides were squirming and his mind was screaming. His daughter had changed so much in those twelve months he hadn't seen her. She had grown from a girl into a woman and resembled her mother in almost every inch of her being. Only her hair was his, which was a much darker shade than her mother's blonde locks had been. For a second he had thought her mother's ghost was standing in front of him. He took her in his arms again, holding tight.

"I missed you, Laurie. And I promise you that I will come to visit more often this year," he mumbled in her hair and felt her delicate arms tighten around him as he started speaking once more: "Now, are you ready to leave? I heard they are promoting a new Nimbus and thought that you might fancy an update. You are my daughter, after all!"

She laughed and pulled away to look up at him. "Oh, right. Because Puddlemere's great star, Quidditch hero and coach of the year, can't have his daughter flying around on a seven months old broom." He laughed and she just shook her head.

*******

Laurie pushed through the mass of people on the narrow street in front of the Quidditch store. Diagon Alley was unusually crowded today. Her father had been right; they were promoting a new Nimbus. It was the new Nimbus 4010. People in different colored robes were standing in front of the big lass window, pressing their aces to the glass and admiring the slender broomstick that was on display behind it. Laurie could hear their excited whispers, and suddenly they turned, pointing at her family. They had recognized them. Just great. Her father quickly steered her into the store, which was almost completely empty.

"Good Morning! How may I help you today" the sales manager approached them with a friendly smile on his face. He was short, round and wore a purple robe that almost touched the floor.

"Mr. Bebblin, always a pleasure to see you!" her father replied, "I am interested in the new Nimbus."

"For your son or daughter?" the man asked, looking at Laurie and her brothers.

"My daughter."

"Oh. What position is she playing?" Mr. Bebblin asked as he turned and made his way to the back of the store.

"She is playing seeker for Gryffindor for six years now."

"Oh, splendid! How wonderful! Now, I think I got just the right broom for you; because, you see, there are actually two new Nimbi coming out today, but not many are interested in the second model. It's the first model designed especially for woman. But let me show you!"

Behind the little sales desk there was a wooden chest on the floor next to a couple of boxes. It was dark mahogany colored and bore the golden Nimbus symbol on the lid. Mr. Bebblin lifted it up on the table and carefully opened the lid, revealing a slender, shining broom. Its tail was light colored and streamlined, and every branch was clipped perfectly.

"Nimbus really created an extraordinary broom with this model. I would even consider it equal to the new Firebolt. The shaft is made from the finest Italian Mahogany and the tail is pure pine lopping from the Alps. This broom is slightly shorter, slender and faster to turn as the others." Her father nodded. "Perfect for the delicate touch of a woman," the clerk added, smiling at Laurie.

Half an hour later they entered Florishs and Blotts, and her father was carrying the long package with the broom in his arms. Laurie searched through her bag for the list of books while smiling contently.

"Do you need help finding everything?" her father asked, bending down to her eye level.

"Nah, I'll be okay. You can help Mum find all the books for Dave," she answered, smiling.

What id he expect? He didn't need to change her diapers or anything! She was almost seventeen, not seven! Carefully she maneuvered through the crowd of students and parents next to the shelves and made her way to the seventh's year area. Just as she was about to pull a transfiguration book from one of the shelves, she felt a hand on her shoulder and she turned around. It was nothing unusual to meet friends while shopping for supplies, but her smile faded, as she didn't recognize the woman standing in front of her.

She had never seen her anywhere. The woman's long hair was from a chocolate brown color and had silver streaks, that didn't make her seem old, but wise and elegant. Her face bore visible signs of age, just like her father's, especially around the eyes, her forehead and the corners of her mouth. Her eyes were intense and deep like the see, sparkling green and clear to read like a book. Although they had never met before, Laurie could read great kindness and affection in them. They told a story of happiness; but there was also a hint of great sorrow and bitterness. She wore a dark blue robe that complemented her slim figure. Laurie guessed her to be around fifty years old, a little older than her parents. Somehow she seemed familiar, but Laurie could not remember ever meeting her. Suddenly, she got nervous and she realized the woman still had a firm grip on her arm. She looked at her quizzically.

"May I help you?" Laurie asked hesitantly.

She didn't answer. The woman must have mistaken her for someone else; maybe her daughter, niece, or something. She remained silent however, as if she was in another world. Suddenly, she seemed to snap out of her trance and looked at her, stuttering an answer: "I…what's your name? Who's your father?"

Laurie tried to back away. What did this mysterious woman want? Probably another fan of her father's! Now she wasn't even able to buy her books anymore without being bothered! This woman was probably a fanatic fan; a freak, that was lusting after him. She didn't seemed like that at first glance, yet Laurie couldn't think of any other explanation. She could have sworn that this woman was anything but one of her father's crazy fans.

"That is none of your business! What do you want from me?" And suddenly it dawned on her: She was probably another reporter!

"I have to talk to you. I have to tell you, you need to know, " the woman said.

Laurie grimaced and tried to pull herself from the woman's grasp again. She desperately searched the crowd for her father's form. She saw him at the far corner and met his eyes when he turned around. After seeing his daughter's panicking face, he hastily made his way over. The woman, however, didn't leave.

"I need to talk to you about your mother!" the woman mumbled hastily as Laurie turned away, "Your birthmother."

She froze. Her _what_? Laurie looked at the woman with curious eyes. Somehow she knew she wasn't joking. So it was the truth! She had always wondered…and now a complete stranger confessed it to her in a bookstore! She felt her father's hand on her shoulder.

"Laurielle? What is going on?" Her father asked, but his face got pale when he recognized the stranger, "Dear Merlin."

"That's right! I have a bone to pick with you! Or should I say a whole skeleton? Laurielle? Her name is _Laura_!" the woman almost screamed at her father and her cheeks were flushed with anger, her patient complexion was gone.

"Dad, what's going on? What is this woman talking about and who is she?" Laurie asked worriedly. What _was_ going on?! The stranger looked at her father with a shocked expression on her face, as if she had just realized something.

"I cannot believe you! You swore it! You swore to me and everyone else before we left the island twelve years ago! I thought more of you." The woman was raging now, but suddenly her anger seemed to disappear and she looked at him with tears in her eyes: "I thought you were a better man, Oliver Wood. I really did, for Katie's sake. But I am disappointed. How could you do this to your own daughter?"

"Wait a second!" Laurie interrupted the stranger's speech, now getting angry herself, "My Dad is the best father you can imagine! I don't know who you are and how you get the idea you could speak to him like that, but let me assure you that-"

"A great father? Oh really? And Elaine is a great _mother_? I bet this was all her idea as well! I promised my sister before she died that I would watch over her. Katie knew that you two would not stick to the promise. You and your wife took away her identity by taking away the memory of her mother!"

Laurie had to hold on to the bookshelf next to her. This was all too much for her. What did this all mean? Her whole life had been a lie? If this woman's sister, this Katie, was her mother, she was Laurie's aunt. What was it that her parents had done to hear when she was little? Laurie didn't remember anything about her past before she had turned five, so had they really just erased the memories from her mind?

"Izzy, listen…", her father started, but her aunt cut him off.

"It's Isabelle for you, Wood. And now you listen! If you care for your daughter's trust and love the slightest bit, you owe her an explanation. You will bring her to my house this Saturday and I will tell her everything. She is turning seventeen and she has a right to know. I can already see the questions in her eyes and the hurt you caused her. You can spend the next few days trying to explain your actions…if you even have any. She will get all the answers she needs from me."

Her father just nodded his head, speechless.

*******

On Saturday, the whole family made their way to London, where Isabelle was living. Laurie hadn't been able to get much information from her parents; not that she had wanted any, either. She couldn't believe either of her parents. They had tried to tell her that they had just wanted to protect her. It had been during the year You-Know-Who was defeated by Harry Potter, so there were so many secrets and legends her head still hurt trying to understand even the smallest amount of it. What hurt the most was the realization that all her memory was just gone, lost forever, while even Vincent admitted that he remembered her mother.

She had died in the final battle against the Death Eaters, and Laurie's parents had decided that it would have been the easiest thing to erase Laurie's memory, so that the pain over losing her mother would fade away. Elaine had told her that they made that decision one night after she had cried herself to sleep again for the twentieth night in a row. They had given her a strong potion and changed her name as well as her history. Laura Bell became Laurielle Wood.

As they arrived in front of the small-detached house in London's South End, Laurie wondered if she could keep down her lunch. Her whole body trembled as she mounted the few steps to the front door and rang the bell. Her parents had told her that the woman was her aunt Isabelle Bell, the older sister of her mother: Katherine Bell. They did not have a picture and did not want to tell her anything, so she nervously waited for the day she went to visit her aunt.

Isabelle opened the door and smiled at her, leading her into the house. It was cozy, and she instantly spotted a few pictures that were sitting on the mantelpiece in the living room. One of them was of three obviously related girls. Two were blonde and one brown haired, which seemed to be the oldest of the three. If the dark haired was her aunt, then which one of the two blondes was her mother?

"Are you looking at the pictures?" Her aunt asked her with a warm smile, "Wait, I got a better picture of your Mum."

Isabelle turned and stood on her toes to reach something that was standing on top of a tall wardrobe in the hallway. She finally carried a small wooden box into the living room and set it down on the coffee table around which everyone had taken a seat. She said down a tray with cookies and cups of steaming tea next to it. The little box was made of dark, polished wood and decorated with silver runes that looked unfamiliar to Laurie. A thick layer of dust covered the lid that Isabelle brushed away with her sleeve before slowly opening it.

A couple of small things lay inside, such as a small book, a few papers and glass phials with a white, swirling mixture inside. Her aunt pulled a single photograph from the box and handed it to her. It showed one of the blonde girls from the other picture, only that she seemed much older in this one. She seemed to be around Laurie's age and was holding a little child. The girl had long, blonde hair and a warm smile. How could Laurie forget about someone like this? She tried so hard, but she couldn't remember anything. There was so much love in the girl's expression as she gazed at the baby Laurie in her arms. Oh how she longed to have known her mother! Tears formed in her yes and she brushed them away quickly.

"Tell me about her, please" she begged her aunt.

"Yes. Katie was my sister; my sweet, little, innocent sister…" she trailed of and brushed away a few tears herself, before she reached into the box and pulled out a little basin.

"What is this?" Laurie asked and looked at her parents' shocked expressions.

"This, Laura, is your mother's. She kept all her thoughts and memories for you, because she knew that one that you would find out." It still seemed a little strange for her to be called Laura, but she got used to the sound of her real name.

"And what am I going to do with it?" As if to answer her question, her aunt pulled a stag of envelopes from the little box and handed them to her. Laurie pulled the top one from the stag and looked at it, surprised.

"It…it has today's date written on it" she stuttered.

"Your mother was gifted with the ability to see things before they happened. She knew about everything; and, she knew that you would be reading this letter today. There is another letter that was addressed to all of us."

Her aunt reached over and handed her yet another letter, which was already open. As Laurie's finger touched the silky paper, and if felt light and fragile in her hands. Her hand trembled as her eyes followed the elegant, neat handwriting in silver ink across the page.

_To my beloved sister and daughter,_

_My heart aches as I am writing these lines. Laura is laying in her little bed in the corner of our tent and is sleeping through everything that's going on. She doesn't know. You all don't know, and I am bound to keep my secret. As you are reading these lines, you already know what happened. I am sorry. They are preparing to leave and we are traveling to the fort in a desperate try to survive. There are so many who will not return. I am so scared, but not for me; it's you I'm worried about. All the noises outside are frightening me, but I have to finish this letter, because I can't just vanish without telling you. I am so sorry and it's breaking my heart to know I will never see you again. I know that I will miss you and I hope you will make it out safe and without harm. It is hard for me to leave you behind Laura, but I know your Dad loves you and Elaine is going to be a good mother to you. She promised to raise you like her own child. You are only four years old; you shouldn't have to live through something like this. I want you to know, however, that I will always be there for you and I am watching over you; wherever you are. I left you all my memories; keep them safe, as they are a part of my soul and the key to your own life. There are some good and bad, some might even be shocking, and make sure to have a broom with you if you wish to live through them. I want you to know as much about your own past as you possibly can, so I am sending a letter with every memory to help and guide you through. I can hear the sirens, so it is time for us to go. Take care and make sure you are safe; you are my world, and you are my life._

_Love always,_

_Your sister and Mum_

_Katie_

Laurie lifted her gaze up from the letter and wordlessly handed it to her father, even though it was not addressed to him. She figured that he might want to read it, too. They must have loved each other at some point, right? She watched the reactions on her father's face and got her answer even without asking. His hands were trembling and she could see his eyes getting glossy, something she had never seen before. He put down the paper and looked at her aunt.

"Why did you keep all this from us if you knew about everything?" he asked with hurt in his voice. She just looked at him and there was a dangerous glow in her eyes as she glared at him.

"I had to hold on to it until she would enter her seventh year. It was my part of the promise. Of course, I didn't know that you wouldn't keep yours! I had to hide, because it still wasn't save for me outside. I lost my whole family that day and I had to keep all the secrets and knowledge hidden and safe. You gave caused her so much hurt with not telling her" she exclaimed angrily.

"And you think," Elaine interrupted for the first time, "that it is going to hurt less now to tell her?"

"I trusted you, and you disappointed me. Your only hope to make it up to me, and your daughter, is to tell her the truth. You owe her; she has a right to know, and you don't have the right to stop her from finding out."

Elaine tried to speak again, but her father lifted his hand to silence her. He looked like he had aged a few years and there was hurt and sorrow in his voice as he spoke: "We won't stop her. I know that it was wrong. Back then, however, we didn't see another option. It is her decision if she wants to relive the past, or not."

"I want to!" Laurie stated firmly and reached for the first envelope again.

Nobody said a word or tried to stop her from doing so. Her aunt watched her intently, her brother seemed in complete and utter shock. Her mother's lips were only a thin line and her father seemed to be almost as nervous as she was.

"Would you come with me?" she asked him suddenly and he nodded slowly.

"You have to hold on to her like a portkey once she pours the memory into the basin." Her aunt explained to her father as Laurie unfolded the letter. It bore a blue wax seal with a horse on it. The letter was written in the same elegant writing she recognized as her mother's.

_My Dear Laura,_

_Today I am taking you to the very beginning of your story, to the very place you are right now…_

_Mum_

Laura poured the white content from the vial into the little basin and, after taking a deep breath, lowered her face into it. She could feel her father's hand on her shoulder as they were both pulled into the liquid. A second later, they were sitting on the very same sofa in the very same room, only that there was a young, blonde girl sitting across from them that looked and awful lot like the little girl from the picture in on the mantelpiece.

"Dear Merlin" Laurie whispered as she recognized her mother and she clutched her father's hand, that was just as cold as her own.

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**It was a little over dramatic, I know. But I just loooove drama, and the next few chapters are rather light hearted (compared to this), so please leave me some feedback! Thanks!**


	2. Chapter 2

**2. Home At Last**

**Welcome to my second, real chapter. Remember that this is Katie telling her life's story. I hope it is funnier than the prologue and tell me how you liked it afterwards!**

**Disclaimer:**** I still don't own anything!**

**About the story:**** Katie Bell was killed during the final battle and left behind her baby girl, who doesn't know about her mother's past. Katie left the memories of her own life's story for her to discover.**

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The shrill, merciless beeping ripped me fro my dreams. I opened one eye groggily to gaze at the time and groaned, burying my head in my pillows. It was nine o'clock and I was still on summer break. With a well-aimed move I knocked it off and fell back asleep. Who had it set anyway? I never had to get up that early. Unless…dear Merlin! I jumped up and instantly groaned at my aching muscles. My father and I had practiced Quidditch moves all day until late at night. I had to lay down a couple more minutes until the pain went away. Birds were still singing outside, and suddenly I could hear noises from downstairs. Why was everyone awake already? I looked at the clock again and I jumped up for a second time today. My feet got tangled in my blankets and I landed ungracefully on the floor. It was a perfect start to my day. At least my trunk stood next to the door and was already packed, since I had learned my lesson: I always packet everything the night before. Suddenly, my sister came bursting through my door, a toothbrush in her mouth.

"Kat, e'ryt'ing a'right?" she asked.

I could see an amused sparkle in her green eyes as she watched me get up and untangle myself. Izzy was five years older than me, and her medium long brown hair cascaded in thick waves down her back. It was still a little untidy and stuck out behind her left ear, which gave me the impression that she wasn't really awake, either.

"Yeah, what gave you the idea it wasn't?" I replied grumpily.

"I see. Well, it kind of sounded as if you took down your whole shelf or something."

"OUT!" I bellowed and threw a pillow after her retreating form. I could still hear her laughing outside. I had to hurry to get ready in order to leave for school. I went through my pile of clothes to get dressed and checked everything once more before heading down to breakfast. Where the heck was my cat? He was the laziest cat in history and he always loved to fall asleep in places where you couldn't find him. I looked everywhere, but he had vanished.

"Mum!" I called as I sprinted down the stairs, one arm already in my grey vest.

The stairs were newly polished and was winding down in a circle. As I hurried to get downstairs I missed the thin rope that was placed in midair at the bottom of the stairs. I fell flat on my face for the second time that day.

"CHARLOTTE!" I screamed angrily as I rubbed my aching knee and I could hear my little sister snickering around the corner.

She was still laughing when she came into view, still wearing her blue nightgown. Her big blue eyes stared up at me and she grinned happily at the ripped cord.

"Ha ha, Katsies. You totally tripped!" she shrieked with laugher again, rolling on the floor.

"Thanks for the information, smartie, I wouldn't have realized" I retorted and glared at her.

"What's going on?" came the voice of my mother from the hallway, "Charly! That wasn't a niece thing to do to your sister! I told you not to get on their nerves!"

"Little dictator" I mumbled under my breath and my mother glared at me before she addressed my little sister once again. "I told you to go upstairs and get dressed! Don't _make_ me take you up there. I'm coming up in ten minutes to do your hair. Go!" She then turned to me: "So what was it that you wanted from me?"

"I, uh, my cat…"

"On the sofa." She answered and gestured be behind me before turning and going back into the kitchen.

I turned and, of course, there he was: sleeping peacefully on one of the pillows. I could have ripped his purring form into pieces that very moment. I passed my trunk that my father had gotten downstairs on my way to the kitchen and sat down on the kitchen table next to my sister. Dad was reading the Prophet and drinking his black coffee while eating a plate of scrambled eggs. Izzy buttered her toast and I made myself a coffee with plenty of milk. A few minutes later, my mother brought Charly back downstairs. She was dressed nicely, as this was her first day of school. She wore a pink shirt and matching skirt with her blonde ringlets put up in two pigtails on either side of her head. She looked adorable. After what seemed like eternity, somebody remembered the time and it got very hectic from there. Today was a day of firsts, as Izzy was starting her job at the Ministry today and Charly went to school.

I slipped into the bathroom to get on some make-up and do my hair. The thirteen-year-old girl that stared back at me from the mirror didn't seem like it changed much over the summer. I was still the same short, skinny Katie Bell with the long blonde hair and blue eyes. I might not be a complete pain to the eyes to look at, but I wasn't a supermodel, either. Still, there was no reason for me to look like I was fresh out of bed. Hastily I put on my make up, put my hair up in a messy bun and hurried outside for the obligatory 'First Day of School' - picture. Dad was the only one missing.

"WILLIAM!" my mother called in the open doorway. Our poor neighbors were probably already daft.

"Coming, Aimée. Just relax!" he answered from inside the house, "Do you have everything, kids? Emily, where's your bag? You found your cat, Katie? Do you have your teddy, Charly?"

"DAD!" we cried in union and he hurried out the door.

My father was the kind of man that always likes to take his sweet time. Sometimes I wondered if he even knew the meaning of 'Hurry up'. If you dared to push him to hurry up because you were late, he was as stubborn as a donkey and slowed down even more. He could drive you crazy sometimes. After my father was done shooting pictures, we hurried into the ministry car he got from work and finally got on our way to King's Cross. We lived down south, so we had to drive around the whole city. They would drop me off first and then continue on to Charly's school. Izzy apparated to the Ministry.

My father worked at the Ministry as well, after he had retired from Quidditch. He was working as secondary director under Ludo Bagman. My mother was chief of magical maladies at St. Mungos. Many muggle cars blocked our way on the highway, although it wasn't rush hour anymore and I worriedly looked at my watch: It was 10:45!

"Ok, hold on tight!" my Dad announced and pushed down the little silver button next to the radio. The car excelled instantly, while all the other cars jumped out of its way.

With screeching brakes we stopped in front of the main portal and got out of the car. We hurried along the platform to the barrier in between platform nine and ten. I had a few minutes left until eleven and I had to leave right away. I said goodbye to my parents, but Charly made a scene, as usual. She started crying and clung to my hip.

"Please don't go!" she howled.

"Honey, I got to leave, I don't have time for this. I will be back for Christmas and Izzy is still here!"

"She is always mean to me!"

"Oh come on, Charly, don't be such a baby! She is not mean to you and if she is, you can write me a letter now and I can tell her off for it, ok?" She nodded and sniveled.

"Ok, I'll do that."

"Good. Now, I have to go. I'll see you at Christmas!"

I turned and waved at them before staring at the barrier. That damn thing. I did not just dislike it; I _hated_ it. No matter how many times I had passed it, I still could not fool my mind and my instinct tried to take over: You do not run at solid brick walls. I did not have time for this today, so I squeezed my eyes shut and started running. If somebody got in my way right now, I would probably run him or her over. Thank Merlin, however, I opened my eyes and gazed at the familiar red steam engine instead of somebody that was flat on the ground. I had made it just in time, as I heard it whistle and white steam poured out of its chimney. I left my trunk in one of the hallways and hopped on one of the steps, as the train started moving. One of my hands was holding on to the door handle and my other arm clutched my cat to my chest.

People were still moving in the hallways and looked for a vacant compartment. I was looking for a certain one that occupied my friends. They usually chose one in the midsection of the train and hang a red scarf on the outside of the door. They had started this tradition after an incident on their way back from Christmas break in their first year. I had accidentally pumped into Flint and the rest of the Slytherin Quidditch team while looking for my friends. I spotted the Gryffindor scarf on one of the compartments and I smiled as I heard laugher and shrieking from the inside that audible from either end of the train.

I opened the door with a big smile on my face and stuck my head in and was greeted with a funny sight. The two red haired Weasley twins that were identical to the last little freckle on their nose were pulling on something with an evil grin on their faces. Angelina Johnson, a pretty, black girl with braids was pulling on the other side of the object, which appeared to be her handbag. Alicia Spinnet, the Part-Pakistani girl was sitting next to them and the brown haired girl next to was giggling along with her. She was our Quidditch captain's younger sister and my best friend, Leanne Wood. Across from the little group sat Lee Jordan, a black boy with dreads and the Quidditch commentator. He had a big carton on his lap and was laughing uncontrollably at the scene in front of him. Leanne was the only one in the compartment that was not actively involved in Quidditch, but since Oliver Wood was her brother, she was part of the team. Nobody seemed to realize I was standing in the doorway until I cleared my throat. Their heads turned at once and the three stopped pulling, Alicia and Leanne got quiet and Lee, who had been commentating the twin's moves shut his mouth.

"KATIE!" Leanne shrieked and jumped up from her seat. Alicia and her jumped on my and almost crushed me in their arms.

"Hey…guy's, I can't breathe!" I uttered under my breath.

They let go of me instantly and sat back down in their seats. The twins let go of Angelina's bag and the older girl readjusted her clothes before enfolding me in a warm, friendly hug. Her amber colored robes complemented her skin color very well and her perfectly plugged eyebrows danced in union with the corners of her mouth. Leanne wore purple robes, while Alicia had had already put on her uniform, just like the boys.

"What was it you guys were fighting about earlier?" I asked.

"My bag. My new wand is in it and those two idiots, " Angelina glared at the twins who just grinned innocently at her, "could not wait to see it. It almost broke in the process, just like the old one. Look at their faces…they are planning something again!"

"Us? Never!" they exclaimed, faking hurt.

"Hey guys, you want to see my new pet?" Lee asked with a huge grin on his face.

"What is it? I hope it's not a toad. Those things are so boring!" Leanne explained and everybody broke into laugher at her girly attitude.

"No. Much better!" Lee answered, "My Dad got her from me when we visited my grandpa in Jamaica over the summer. Do you really wanna see her?"

"Come on Lee, open that box! What kind of animal is it and what's her name?" Fred demanded.

"Alright, alright, but ladies…no screaming, please!"

The carton in Lee's lab was about the size of a shoe carton and he had poked several holes on the lid. By Merlin's beard, what was in it? Somehow I suddenly felt like I didn't really want to find out that desperately anymore. It had dawned on me that Lee Jordan was the twin's best friend and something like their soul mate, so what exactly could be hidden in this carton of his?

"Her name's Agatha. And remember, she hates loud screaming." He slowly lifted the lid and Alicia and Leanne screamed instantly. Angelina closed her eyes in disgust and I clapped a hand over my mouth to muffle my own scream. Not that I suffered from any kind of phobia, but who did not get sick upon meeting _Agatha_, was not in a healthy state of mind. Or A Weasley Twin She was a black haired, giant spider the size of a soccer ball.

"Cool! Lee, is it what I think it is?" George asked excitedly.

"If you are thinking that it is a magically enlarged black spider, then…yes!" Lee grinned from ear to ear.

"Merlin, we have to show Ron! He'll piss his pants!" Fred proposed and his brother nodded.

They left the compartment on a quest to find their younger brother Ron, who was starting Hogwarts today and apparently suffered from a severe arachnophobia. Angelina madder her way to her classmate's compartment to change into her robes; so, Alicia, Leanne and me were left to ourselves. It was time to gossip a little and catch up.

"How was your summer, Katie? Your letters always sounded so happy, but I don't think you told me everything that had happened!" Alicia asked me and I grinned.

"What about this French boy? What was his name again? Luc?" Leanne added to the conversation and I blushed.

"I'll tell you and the others n the dorms tonight, ok? I don't want to risk the boys coming in. You have to tell me about Ireland, Leanne…every single dirty detail!"

We sat down comfortably and talked about last year's events. My cat jumped from my lap and lay down in the empty window seat. Suddenly somebody knocked on our compartment door and the witch with the trolley pocked her head in. We bought some sweets and shared them among us before we each focused on something else. I was reading the book I had started a few weeks ago, Alicia flipped through the newest copy of Witch Weekly and Leanne wrote in her diary. My eyelids grew heavy, and as I was about to doze off, somebody knocked at the door, again.

"Come in" Alicia answered and rearranged the classes on her nose.

The boy that was standing in the doorway had short, sandy colored hair and warm chocolate brown eyes. His broad shoulders and hard muscles came from years of playing Quidditch; his lips bore his trademark smirk that made every girl melt to the floor.

"Hey brother, what's up?" Leanne asked and smirked at her older brother who just looked at her with a sarcastic glare on his face.

"Anything you need, captain?" Alicia wanted to know.

"Well, I wanted to talk to you guys about something. Where are the twins?" he said while he fully entered our compartment and sat down next to Alicia who scooted down a bit to make room for him. I set up to take a better look at him.

"How was your summer, Wood?" Alicia asked her good friend. It still amazed me how those two could be such good friends despite the age gap. But they had known each other since the day Alicia was born.

"It was decent. Thanks, Licia," He answered "but there's something else I wanted to talk to you about. You know that Ramsey and Sherwin graduated last year, which means that we need a new chaser and a seeker. None of the reserves is good enough to play seeker, so we will have to hold tryouts. The chaser position, however, I want to give to you Alicia. You get along great with Bell and Johnson, so I want to pull you up. What do you say?"

"What I'll say? Yes, of course!" Alicia squealed happily, jumped up and flung her arms around him "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

He just sat there, smiling awkwardly while he watched us celebrate for a few minutes and we jumped up and down in joy. He finally got up and cleared his throat.

"Well, I'm going to leave. We'll get there soon. I'll see you guys around." He hurried out of the compartment.

"Bye, bye, Ollikins!" Leanne called after him, but he was already gone.

We squealed again and danced around the apartment for another fifteen minutes until we finally settled down again and changed into our robes. We passed our time with several games of Exploding Snap, reading and daydreaming. I finally fell asleep for what seemed like a few minutes. I awoke at somebody shaking me.

"Come on, Katie, get up. You are harder to get up than a drunken boy. We have to get off the train!" Angelina's soft voice pulled me from my dreams. I opened one eye and looked straight into her dark pools that were surrounded by the longest eyelashes I had ever seen.

I sat up slowly and pulled my little bag from the storage shelf above her heads to collect my things. Sleepily I stuffed everything in my gray bag and pulled my black robes over my shoulders. My cat was stretching in the seat across from me and he seemed sleepily as well.

"You look cute when you're tired, you know that, right?" Angelina teased me and pinched my cheek, before ducking away from my hand that had almost hit the back of her head.

The train had stopped while we were still gathering our things and I could hear the other students in the hallway outside. Fred, George and Lee entered the compartment to get their things, as well and we made our way out to the train station. We exited out of the nearest door and into the chilly evening air. It was definitely fall in Scotland. Fog was slowly crawling across the ground and added a mystical look to the scenery. I stopped for a moment to take in the view and smiled, as a feeling of strange familiarity washed over me. The mass of people finally pushed me towards the carriages that brought us up to the school.

The steam from the red engine enfolded most of the students that were still on the platform, and I could hear Hagrid's loud voice over the chattering of the students. He called the first years to come and follow him down to the boats. She smiled at him as she passed and he winked at her. Katie liked the clumsy, wild-looking gamekeeper. He always looked the other way when he caught them sprinting across the school grounds after curfew, because Oliver had kept them for yet another long and hard practice. Most Gryffindors liked him, but the Slytherins and their parents would like to see him gone.

Katie shared a carriage with Angelina, Alicia, Leanne, Lee and the twins. The ride was surprisingly quiet, since everybody was hungry and tired. They had caught the last carriage that made its way to the castle. The first sight you caught of the castle was still breath taking and Katie breathed a breath of relief when they passed through the massive iron gates. The clear night sky reflected on the lake's black surface and Katie remembered her own boat ride up to the castle. She had shared a boat with Leanne and a boy that got sorted into Hufflepuff. The lake had been rough that night, due to the horrible storm. We had desperately clung to the railing, trying to hold on to the boat. Leanne had almost thrown up. Fred and George had been standing on the front of their little boat, howling and cheering happily.

At this moment we had reached the castle and I could her the stones screeching under the carriage's wheels in front of the massive Oak Portal. The second I opened the carriage door, my cat jump out of my grasp and into the nearest bush. I wasn't worried, since he knew his way around. We climbed the steps to the portal and were met by a grumpy looking Filch and his cat Mrs. Norris. He searched everybody for forbidden products seemed to eye the twins with special care. Loudly chatting, the mass of students slowly pushed us into the Great Hall, where we took our seats at the Gryffindor table. The Quidditch team usually sat together during meals, which was Oliver's 'genius' idea last year to create a sense of team spirit. I sat in between Angelina and Leanne. The boys must have switched something by accident, as I ended up sitting across from Oliver that day.

"Hey" he greeted me with a friendly smile.

"Hi" I replied shyly at a sudden loss of words.

He smiled at me with THAT look on his face again. He seemed to look right through me and into my very soul. He always did that and I hadn't figured out yet if this was good or bad. His expression suddenly changed, it got softer and calm. His eyes had a warm, friendly glow to them just as if he had just realized that he had been staring me down. The candlelight painted soft, and warm circles on his skin. In other words, he looked really good. Why did I realize that just now? Bad, Katie, bad! He was my Quidditch captain and two years older, too! I could feel the heat on my face and figured that I must resemble the red stripes on my tie. I lowered my gaze and studied my plate instead.

Everybody fell silent and the door to the great hall opened to reveal the First Years that were led into the hall by a fierce looking professor McGonagall. She walked through the hall in confident strides, as the scared and slightly intimidated kids followed her with worried looks on their faces. Some of them pointed to the ceiling that revealed the clear night sky. We watched the sorting ceremony with great interest, and cheered for every new Gryffindor that joined us at the table. The First Years were called up on the stool in alphabetical order and the Sorting Hat was placed upon their head, though it usually slipped over their eyes. Suddenly the hall grew silent at a mentioning of a certain name. We had heard the rumors in the train, but we still couldn't believe our ears when McGonagall called the little boy up to the front.

"Potter, Harry!"

You could have heard a needle hitting the floor as he walked up to the stool. Even Fred and George, who had been fighting a sword duel with their knifes were watching silently. Harry was short, had unkempt, dark brown hair and wore a pair of huge glasses. The hat slipped over his eyes and they seemed to have a quick argument, before he shouted "GRYFFINDOR!"

We cheered and jumped up and down. Fred and George screamed over and over again: "We got Potter, we got Potter!"

The twin's younger brother was very pale when it was his turn to sit down on the stool. It did not take the battered hat to decide that long. Within seconds he called: "GYFFINDOR!" We clapped, again. Ron got up and seemed relieved as he fell in one of the chairs at the table, while his older brothers clapped him on the back. I somehow felt sorry for him…his brothers were one of a kind!

The sorting ceremony continued until everybody hat sat down at his or her house table. The food appeared in front of us and after we had eaten dessert, Dumbledore slowly rose from his seat to start his welcoming speech. As usual he reminded us to stick to the rules, of Filch's forbidden artifacts list and to keep out of the forbidden forest. The third floors right wing was closed for us, too, but he didn't explain it further. Fred and George started to whisper instantly and I shot them a worried glance. Dumbledore ended the feast and we finally made our way up to the dorms. We were about to leave the great hall when Oliver came running after us.

"I just decided that it might be a good idea to have a little pre-seasonal training session this Saturday before we are holding tryouts. At 10 in the morning, what do you think?"

He got a couple of groans from his team, but we had to agree with him: It was a good idea. We mumbled a goodbye and climbed up the moving stairs to the Gryffindor Tower. Why was it that our dorms had to be up high in the tower? Climbing that many stairs after a good meal and a long train ride was anything but easy. We finally reached the portrait and waited for somebody that knew the password. We were finally able to enter after Percy had let us in, followed by the bored looking First Years. I took in the familiar surrounds of our cozy common room. A fire was burning in the fireplace and we flopped down on the sofas and armchairs right in front of it.

Somehow my mind drifted back to Oliver again. Why didn't I get him out of my head? I was thirteen and not one of his many fangirls. Oliver Wood had good looks and great skills at Quidditch and he knew it. He could have any girl he wanted in this bloody school, but he didn't have much time to even realize this. He had developed into a goy that broke every girl's heart without knowing it. He had had girlfriends of course, but they were more like a souvenir than anything. Boys. I must have had a dreamy look on my face, because I suddenly felt Alicia nudging my side and I turned around to face her. Her eyebrows were raised and she looked at me with a knowing smile on her face. I just grinned and looked away.

After half an hour of chatting, laughing and joking around, we finally decided to call it a night. We dragged ourselves up the stairs in to our dorm and I fell asleep the minute I collapsed on my bed. Home at last.

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**Review? Pretty please?**


	3. Chapter 3

**2. Mischief Managed**

**Alrighty, so here's the next chapter. I hope you like it so far and that it's not too confusing… Please, please tell me what you're thinking and how I'm doing with my English…also, I don't have a Beta reader yet, so if you want the job…feel free to tell me so. **

**I really enjoyed writing the last part of this chapter, and I decided to change up the story (remember that I planned on just translating my German version?) and I try to be as accurate with the books as possible…but Katie, Angelina and Alicia will be in the same year (I made changes in the previous chapter, so don't get confused). **

_**Maryalice**_**: I'm sorry I had to 'kill' her, but I'm a HUGE drama person…I just love it. Also, I both love fluff and sad endings (so I don't know if you can expect a happy one) I made some changes on my one-shot and I hope it got a little less confusing. Thank you so much for your review, I thought nobody was reading it!**

**Enjoy!**

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Classes started a few days after our arrival and the teachers seemed to jump right into it. A few days after the beginning of the term I already had to stay up late to get my homework done, and Quidditch practice hadn't even started yet! I still couldn't decide if History of Magic or Potions was worse. I was considerably good at Potions for a Gryffindor, but I hated Snape. History of Magic, however, I almost failed every single year. Come on, who can pay attention to something like this? It never failed to surprise me how dependant a subject's popularity is on the teacher. My best classes were Transfiguration and Charms, but all in all I wasn't such a bad student, because I was a perfectionist and overachiever sometimes.

Still, I could not decide what was worse: sitting in Binn's classroom for two hours and listening to his boring, lulling voice telling us about another Goblin war two hundred years ago; or, to get locked up in a cold, humid old dungeon with a couple of Slytherin idiots and Snape, the biggest of them all. Snape HATED Gryffindors with a passion and we always had to watch every single step we took around him. Most of the times he made up stuff to annoy the living daylights out of us and to take away points. His specialty was shooting tricky questions at people who had not been paying attention for two seconds and who were clueless as to what he wanted to know; and, he was really quick to give out detention and extra work for no reason at all. I lost count at how many times I had spend my evenings cleaning up some other student's mess on the floor for detention, and getting in trouble with Oliver in the process for missing practice.

Only Fred and George bet Angelina, Alicia and me on the record. Almost every class period, they both got detention, or extra work; and in their case I thought that it might even be legitimate at times. Snape, however, seemed to especially hate those two and vice versa. Snape always liked to torture the Gryffindor Quidditch team, except Oliver, who didn't get in as much trouble as we did. McGonagall had probably talked to Snape or made up a policy to limit the punishment on Quidditch captains. Right. The only thing that was worse than being a Gryffindor in Snape's class was to be a girl; even some of his Slytherins weren't treated better than us.

Nonetheless, every time I climbed up the stairs from these moldy dungeons I breathed a sigh of relief. Unfortunately, I had Potions first thing in the Morning for two hours every Monday, followed by two hours of History, which was plain torture. Every night I was disappearing behind my mount of homework and wishing for it to be over. I was glad that the Quidditch season hadn't started yet. I had had to fight a scream upon looking at my schedule the morning classes had started. The day had started out fine, since we had gotten up surprisingly early to have enough time to eat breakfast before going to class.

Alicia, Leanne and I had entered the Great Hall together. Fred and George were sitting at the far end of the Gryffindor table and started gesturing like maniacs once they spotted us and we made our way over. Alicia and I exchanged a quick, worried look before sitting down. Fred couldn't speak, because he was chewing and held up his hand, so we had to wait until he had swallowed down his softball-sized bite of cornflakes.

"What's up, Fred?" Alicia asked him while helping herself to a bowl of porridge, while I just nibbled at a piece of toast.

He quietly just pushed the piece of paper across the table for us to look at the schedule. That day and every following Monday was pure torture. Angelina got lucky, since she had Transfiguration first. She gave me a look of pity when I told her in the locker rooms the following Saturday. Oliver had asked for a team meeting, so that we could have a pre-tryouts talk.

"You poor thing!" Angelina said sympathetically and petted me on the back after I told her, "I'm really sorry, that must be hell."

"It's more than that!" Fred exclaimed dramatically, "It's worse than hell!"

"Shut it, there's nothing worse than hell!" his brother snorted.

"Oh really? Who are you to know that?" Fred shot back and two minutes later they were rolling on the floor, wrestling.

Usually, the Weasley were an inseparable unison and they agreed on anything; sometimes I even suspected they shared a brain. They did, however, get into fight about anything; and if they did, it was a good idea to take shelter until the storm passed. Nobody wanted to be near them when they were fighting, because they rarely stuck to plain old wrestling. Flying objects, such as fruits, books and furniture was standard and could be expected during their fights. Often they collided with some poor, innocent's student's head instead of one of the redheads it was aimed for. Mislead spells hit the walls and were thrown back into the room, shooting at whatever got in their way.

Thank Merlin, there is not much to throw around a locker room, except for most clothing items that don't hurt. Unfortunately, there is not much to hide under, either, and we had to stay for the meeting. Suddenly, they both burst out laughing on the floor. We exchanged nervous glances, but suddenly it dawned on us: they played us! Those two knew very well how to manipulate us. They very well knew how people reacted to their fighting, and they used it to their advantage.

"Guys, your faces were priceless!" Fred exclaimed between laughs.

"To die for!" George added and held his aching belly.

They did not, however, realize that they were the only ones laughing. The rest of the team was glaring daggers at them. We were about to jump on them; but our dear captain, Oliver Wood, who had decided to make his entrance at this very moment, saved them. He closed the door behind him and looked at us with his eyebrows raised high.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Uh, nothing!" Angelina said quickly and he frowned.

"Ooookay. Well, I wanted to talk to you about tryouts. I posted a note on the bulletin board in the common room; I scheduled it a week from today."

Everybody just nodded; we were already drifting away in this dreamy state of mind that was reserved for boring professor's lectures…and Oliver's speeches. We loved Quidditch, but we weren't as obsessed with the sport as he was; and even though we cared for the team's well being, we just couldn't help but dose off. He sat down on the bench across from us and nervously ran a hand through his messy, brown hair. I tuned everything out, so I didn't catch anything he said and just stared at him. He gazed at us with a firm look of determination and his warm brown eyes were sparkling as he spoke. Had they always been this yummy chocolate brown with this slight, golden glow in them? The dark, grey sweater he was wearing really suited him and it fit at just the right places. Focus, Katie, Focus! The new seeker, that's what he's talking about, so stop daydreaming. I shifted nervously in my seat.

"What's up with you today?" Alicia whispered after nudging me in the ribs with her elbow.

"Ow! Nothing!" I protested.

"Nothing. Who are you kidding?"

I didn't answer and decided to kick George in the butt, since he was sitting right in front of me on the floor and snoring. His laud screams of protest triggered a few laughs from the team and had the desired effect on Alicia, since she didn't bother to ask further questions about my weird behavior. I didn't know what was wrong with me lately, and I certainly didn't need my gossiping teammates to know. Unfortunately, I underestimated her memory. Oliver had ended the meeting once everyone had calmed down again and we promised to meet him on the pitch half an hour prior to the tryouts to help and set up. Alicia pulled me aside once we had exited the locker rooms.

"Spill, what's the deal with you and Wood lately?" she demanded.

"What?"

"Don't play dumb, Katie: I'm neither blind, nor deaf. I am your friend and I could see the looks you shot him and how you behaved around our dear captain. Maybe you haven't realized it yet, but I think you got a thing for him!"

"I – what?!"

"Katie!"

"No, seriously, Lish. Oliver's our _captain_!"

"AH HA! _Oliver_!" She squealed happily.

"Shhhh! Stop it!"

"He is our captain and two years older, bla bla, I know…so what?"

I groaned. This conversation was going somewhere I didn't want to go. Lucky for me, the twins stepped out of the locker rooms behind us. George snatched Alicia while Fred put his arms around my shoulders and steered me up to the castle, the other two followed close behind.

**********

"I think Professor Sprout's gone mad!" Leanne growled angrily while throwing a hand full of soil onto the plant she had just pricked.

"What gives you that idea?" I asked sarcastically.

"As if handling devil's snares isn't bad enough; no, we're working in complete and utter darkness!"

She had a point, I thought as I wiped off the sweat on my forehead from wrestling one of those evil little buggers. Amy Warren hadn't been so lucky and she had to be escorted to the hospital wing to get her nose fixed. Those plants were plain nasty.

"What does she need them for, anyway?" I wondered, and when there was no reply, I asked: "Leanne?"

"Hmmmmpf!" came the answer from the darkness.

"Lumos!" I muttered quickly and the plant that had wrapped itself around Leanne's head let go at once.

"Miss Bell! What did I say about light – oh, Miss Wood, are you alright?" a worried looking professor made her way over to us.

We both nodded quickly, brushing off the dirt from our robes. Usually, I didn't mind Professor Sprout or Herbiology, but this was just ridiculous. Leanne glared at the professor as she took off her dragon skin gloves.

"I am sorry, professor, but I don't think I can do this," she admitted, her silky curls bouncing as she shook her head.

"I understand, Miss Wood. It is time to finish up anyway, I think. I might let you go to lunch early today, so you can just clean up your station and leave."

The kind professor seemed a little nervous, something very unusual for her. She seemed pale as opposed to her usual rosy cheeks. Her cream colored robe was buttoned wrong, and she shot worried glances at the other students as she walked away from us.

Leanne and I made our way up to the castle together with Alicia and Angelina, and sat down at the Gryffindor table for lunch. Leanne was studying her Transfiguration book again, since we had a test the next day. If there was a person in the world that was even more of an overachiever than I, it was she. This seemed to run in the family, since Oliver was the same. As if he had sensed that I was thinking about him, he appeared in front of us and plopped down in the seat across the table.

"Hey sis, how's Transfiguration coming?" he asked grinning while he looked at me.

"Marvelous, _bro._" She looked up and grimaced.

"Geez, can't you two ever stop bickering?" Angelina suggested as she took a seat beside me, putting down her heavy bag next to the chair.

"Yeah, Wood, you guys are supposed to _love_ each other!" George commented, who appeared next to Oliver on the table.

"EW! Never!" both Oliver and Leanne exclaimed at the same time.

"Well, at least you guys agree on _something_!" Fred stated, who was sitting on Oliver's other side and loading a mount of meat and potatoes on his plate.

As I was slowly chewing on my piece of broccoli, I watched the boys eat in disgust. I knew they were still growing, plus they played Quidditch, but did this mean that they had to eat like pigs? Did their stomach have the same capacity as a cow's?! I shook my head and swallowed, as the twins' actions caught my attention. They were competing on who could stuff more food into their mouth. Both of them stopped at the same time, as they couldn't possibly push another thing in and could barely shut their mouth. George did not want to surrender to his twin, so he pushed another piece of green asparagus between his teeth. It didn't go too far and stuck out, making him look like a complete idiot. We broke into laugher and had to wipe away the tears that came flowing down. The twins started to chuckle as well, which send pieces of half-chewed food flying everywhere and we had to duck to avoid it.

"You guys are pigs!" Angelina complained from her spot under the table.

"Sorry, darling!" Fred apologized, and even though he was joking I could tell that he did mean it.

"So…" Oliver began and everybody groaned, "I just wanted to let you know that we are going to have tryouts next Sunday morning at 10."

*******

The following Saturday morning, an angry-looking Angelina woke me up at 9:30. She stood towering over me next to my bed with her hands on her hips, brows furrowed and her left foot tapping on the floor nervously.

"Katherine Bell, if you don't hurry and get your ass out of bed RIGHT NOW, you are going to be late for the first practice this year and Oliver going to bite all our heads off!" she said.

"Come on, Angelina, you already sound like him!" Leanne, who had been woken up as well, mumbled into her pillow.

I had gotten out of bed already while they had been talking and stumbled over to the bathroom. Yawning I turned on the water on the sink and washed my face. Suddenly feeling more awake, I brushed my teeth and did my hair before changing into my freshly washed Quidditch robes. How long would it be until they were stained and muddy? One, or two practices?

Surprisingly, Oliver took it easy, just as he had promised. We were doing some passing and ducking and tried to play a little scrimmage match at the end of practice. He seemed pleased with what he saw, and he was ecstatic at how well Angelina, Alicia and I worked together. He let us off after about two hours of practice, and for once we entered the changing rooms in a good mood and almost relaxed. We knew, however, that this would probably be a one-time occasion.

The next day, we met up on the field again at the same time. Oliver had already placed a few brooms on the ground in the middle of the field, which kind of reminded me of the Flying class we took our first year. The sun was already up and cast a warm glow on the stadium. I was shielding my eyes against the bright light. Suddenly I spotted the little group of people that had gathered in the middle of the stadium, all of which looked very hopeful. Most of them were either second years or seventh years, which kind of surprised me. Why would you join the team in your last and probably most stressful year if you had never played before?

The tryouts were horrible; the people were horrible! None of the students that came to try out were even close to what Wood was looking for. The reserve team was practicing with us, which felt weird to me, since they usually had practice once a week on Saturdays without us. None of them was playing the Seeker position either, so it seemed hopeless. During the drills Oliver had set up for the prospective seekers, people were falling off their brooms, going at the pace of an old grandmother, or simple gave up before they had even reached the other end of the field.

When we entered the locker rooms at the end of practice, nobody said a word; even the twins were quiet, and Oliver's lips were pressed together in a tight line, signaling his tension and frustration. We all sat down in the main area and looked around, our captain seemed to think of something to say, but closed his mouth every time he tried to speak. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door and McGonagall entered the changing rooms.

"Ah, I see that you must be finished. Now, did you succeed in finding a new Seeker?" she asked eagerly.

"Um, I'm sorry; we didn't, professor," Oliver admitted.

"My Goodness," she breathed and sank down on one of the benches, "this is a disaster, unbelievable. We have to find a solution! If I haven't found a way to solve this within a week, you will have to train the best person you can find. If we aren't going to win this cup, we at least will have to make sure that we can step on the field and play!"

Everyone nodded and she went out the door with a small smile on her face, leaving us to our own thoughts. Oliver looked at all of us, a hopeless expression on his face. I pitied him right then; there was so much pressure on the fifteen-year-old boy. He had become captain last year, the youngest in Hogwarts history for over fifty years. He cleared his throat and sat up straighter.

"Katie, you are the smallest out of all of us, what if you'd…" he started, but I cut him off.

"Oh no, no, no, no, no, no, no! Don't even think about it!" I said defensively and he sighed.

"Well, I guess we'll just have to see. I'll keep you informed," he mumbled and we went to the changing rooms to shower and change.

Little did we know that we would indeed find out very soon. Two days later, Alicia and I were about to climb the stairs to the Astronomy Tower after lunch when we bumped into Angelina and the twins, who were on their way to Deviation.

"This is ridiculous! I really don't know why nobody warned me about this class!" I heard Angelina complain and Fred snorted.

"Our brothers actually did, but we wanted to see for ourselves; plus we love to make up stuff, and in this class we won't even get punished for it! It's awesome!" George exclaimed. Professor Trelawney was actually the only professor in the whole school who had no complains about the twins.

"Hey guys, on your way to torture?" Alicia teased, grinning.

"Well, I don't know if Arithmetric is so much better actually!" Angelina retorted.

That very moment, Oliver came sprinting down the hallway from the Great Hall. His robes were flying behind him and he had a manically grin on his face as he stopped in front of us.

"I got good news!" he almost shouted.

"Geez, Wood, keep it down, will you?" Alicia barked at her friend with her hands on her ears.

"Sorry, Lish" he apologized, "McGonagall's just been to see me with our new Seeker!"

"We have a new seeker? Who is it?" I shrieked and everybody looked at me.

"Spit it out, Wood!" Angelina demanded.

"You guys won't believe it…a First Year! It's Harry Potter, of all people!"

We were stunned. Nobody had expected that. Oliver seemed pleased with himself as he looked at us.

"I have to look through _Quidditch Through The Ages_! I bet Harry is the first First Year to be on a team for centuries!" We snorted at Oliver's words.

"Ol, I don't think you need to go read, you know it by heart; it's like somebody imprinted that in your brain!" I joked.

"Bell, _you don't understand!_" he said, his brows furrowed.

_You're right, I don't_. This guy was positively crazy about Quidditch, but why should I care? He was my captain and he was good at what he did. Sure, he almost killed us every time we had practice, but the effort already showed. And the excited sparkle in his eyes, and the soft smile that tugged at the corners of his mouth, when he talked about the sport, were quite attracting. _Wait a second; did I just think that? Dear Merlin._

*******

Alicia and I arrived at the Astronomy Tower just as the professor had started to hand out charts. Our classmates were already groaning and complaining about the homework that was most likely to follow.

"You two are late. Two points from Gryffindor, " the white haired professor said in a calm voice without looking at us.

She continued to distribute the papers, and her navy blue robes swished behind her, while her straight, long ponytail bounced with her step. The professor was tall, skinny and at around fifty years old. Her face seemed ageless, and somehow she looked exactly the way I pictured Rowena Ravenclaw to look like. I liked the kind professor, even when she had just taken points from us for being two minutes late; but I know that she had just done it because it was the rules. Damn Ravenclaws, always sticking to the rules even when they're grown up.

We took our seats on the left side next to the huge window with a perfect view over the Quidditch Stadium. Soon, we would be out there playing again, once the weather had cooled down and there would be a constant downpour of rain. Who had decided Quidditch was a cold weather sport, again? I took a look at the chart in front of me. Tracking Comets, again? I sighed, unpacking my writing utensils and dipping my quill into my ink before starting to jot down notes on the parchment.

*******

"Okay, one last shot each and then we'll pack up!" Oliver yelled at Alicia, Angelina and me through the heavy winds that had taken up this afternoon.

It was almost dinnertime and we had been out here for two hours. The wind made it hard to stay on the broom, let alone maneuver it. Oliver, however, didn't seem to notice, since he had been able to block every shot I had attempted to get past him today. I was getting frustrated.

"Come on Bell, focus!" he barked as I flew at him once more.

Oh how I would have loved to just aim right for his handsome face instead of the hoop! I was so frustrated that I was about to just throw away the ball and land on the ground. This was ridiculous, and if this practice did anything for me, then it was bringing down my self-esteem. I raised my arm and with all the power that was left in me, I hurled the Quaffle at the right hoop. Oliver caught it with ease, as he dived for it in a fluid motion.

"Oh come on Bell, what's wrong with you tonight? Too much on your mind?" she asked as he tossed the ball into Alicia's waiting arms.

"No, just this hurricane," I answered and flew over to where Fred and George were already packing up.

They had been practicing with Harry, shooting bludgers at him and showing him how to duck away. He had been practicing with us for two weeks, three nights a week, and it was beginning to show. Everybody knew that he had been a natural from the start, and he had moved from catching golf balls to chasing the snitch during practice within a week, but he had gotten much better. Harry was a nice little guy and from the little interaction I had with him, I learned that he wasn't as shy and quiet as everyone expected. He was a First Year, and they were all shy and quiet!

The others landed behind us, stowing the Quaffle away in the wooden chest. Angelina and I both grabbed a handle and carried it down towards the locker rooms. As we had taken off our guards and robes, Oliver called us down to the main area once again.

"Ok, let's just do one more work-out session and we're done!" he exclaimed and everybody groaned, "get your butts on the wall and squat down to a sitting position. Stay like that for 30 seconds."

"Are you serious?" Angelina shrieked and he just glared at her.

"You can do three more rounds of _ten inches_, if you want!" he challenged her and she hastily shut her mouth at the preposition of holding up her legs straight 10 inches above the ground for 30 seconds.

"It's like sitting on the loo!" Fred commented and attempted a laugh, but gave up on it with a pained expression on his face.

"Ok, guys, on the ground! Ten push-ups."

After two more rounds of squats, push-ups, and sit-ups, Oliver finally decided we were done for the day. I felt as if a train had just run me over, and as I looked at my teammates I could tell that they didn't fell much better. Those exercises were necessary to build our muscles; but damn, it hurt!

"I think, our dear captain needs a reminder not to kills us before we even started playing!" Fred explained and smiled as I was walking back to the castle with the twins.

"You know, brother, I think I just found this spare dungbomb in my pocket…" George said, lifting the small brown bag from the inside of his robe pocket and I grinned; "Now we only need a co-conspirator. Hmm, who might that be?" My grin widened.

We went back to the locker rooms, and sure enough there was a single shower running. Fred and George slipped into the boys changing rooms to set the bomb off in Wood's locker, while I was to stand outside and keep cave. It took them longer than expected; the shower had stopped running and I was slowly getting nervous. Suddenly our captain came around the corner with only a towel wrapped around his waist. I swallowed and felt my cheeks burning up. He stopped dead in his tracks as he spotted me.

"Bell? What the heck are you doing here?" he asked, perking up an eyebrow.

_Think of an answer, quick!_ "Uh, I…" _Merlin, I'm dead._ "I think I might have hurt my ankle." _Stupid!_

"Your ankle? When? I didn't see anything happen to you during practice!"

"It was after the last rounds of squats, and I thought it was okay, but it still hurts!"

"Well, let me take a look at it. Maybe we can do something, if not you need to go see Pomfrey. We really don't need any injuries before the season has even started," he said and tried to go past me into the locker rooms.

"Oh, wait!" he stopped and turned around, looking at me oddly, "Maybe you can take a look at it right here? I have a lot of homework, so I need to go back to the castle as soon as possible."

"I am not wearing anything, Bell, if you haven't noticed." He mumbled gravely and I blushed, smiling sheepishly.

"I know, but I really need to get going…"

"Let me just out on my pants and a shirt and I'll be right there!" He stepped forward once more and I had to move in his way to stop him from entering. He seemed confused. "What's the matter with you?"

"You, uh…can't go in there right now…"

"What? Why? Katie Bell, you better tell me right now what's going on!"

"It's, uh…Flint is snogging Sarah Bullstrode in there!" I rambled quickly and he looked like he was going to gag, "I know, it's not a pretty sight! I saw them going in…"

"Still, I need to go get my clothes…!"

"No, Wood!" I exclaimed desperately.

"What is it now?" he asked, annoyed.

Finally, Fred and George ran around the corner and Oliver furrowed his brows as he saw them. I grinned at him innocently and he seemed to realize what was going on.

"Captain!" "Bye, Wood!" the twins yelled as they ran past.

"Uh, thanks for the talk, I need to go!" I mumbled quickly.

"Katie, wait, what about your ankle?!"

"Oh, it doesn't hurt that much anymore! See you!" I said quickly and we dashed out of the door.

We were at a safe distance as we heard him scream "WEASLEYS! BELL!" and we burst out laughing. The twins each gave me a high five and we sprinted up the hill.

"That was hilarious!" Fred commented.

"I'd give anything to see his face!" George exclaimed.

"I know, but guys…that was really close!" I said as just as we sat down at the Gryffindor table.

"What was close?" Angelina demanded to know as she spooned potatoes on her plate and Fred smirked before answering:

"Woods towel from slipping from his waist while he was talking to Katie!" Everybody stopped dead in their tracks to stare at me.

"What? Katie!" Alicia shrieked and I blushed furiously.

"No! I, uh, well…" I stuttered, before I composed myself, "Those two smart asses had the brilliant idea to sneak a dungbomb into Wood's locker and I had to stand in front of the changing rooms to keep him from entering. It's not my fault that he was just in a towel."

"I don't think you minded much," Angelina said, smirking.

"What? No!" I exclaimed furiously, making them grin even wider, "Those two took a freaking long time to get finished and it almost didn't work out."

"So where's my stinky brother right now?" Leanne asked.

"He's right here" a voice came from behind us and Oliver sat down across the table, glaring daggers at me, "And you three, will be cleaning the equipment after every bad weather practice we'll have this season!"

Uh, oh. Oliver Wood was furious. Why then was he still looking so freaking good?!

****************************************************************************************************

**I'm not too sure if I can use the expression 'scrimmage' like this, since my dictionary tells me it's an American word (man, this language difference between English speaking countries is killing me lol). I mean, that's what my soccer coach always called the little 'fake matches' we played at the end of practice. Then again, I went to school in Delaware. You just have to deal with it, hi hi. **


End file.
